Abstract
The construction sector has been heavily impacted by COVID-19 due to the restricted conditions required by construction projects to perform physical activities. Given this context, it is of interest for the industry to identify the impacts that COVID-19 has had on the development of construction projects. However, little is known regarding how the impacts of COVID-19 have affected multiple stakeholders in construction projects and whether there is some interaction among such impacts. This study aims to explore the impacts of COVID-19 and their influence among different construction stakeholders (i.e., engineers and managers, workers, suppliers). This study was enabled by 40 semi-structured interviews that were performed with stakeholders in construction projects in Chile. Content analysis from the interviews led to the identification of categories of impacts and stakeholders, to the development of a cognitive map of the impacts, and to the application of correspondence analysis. Fifteen categories of impacts were identified, and six construction stakeholders were identified as having been impacted by COVID-19. Identifying the causes and effects of the impacts felt by multiple stakeholders revealed that these impacts interacted among each other. Understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on construction stakeholders may facilitate the development of effective mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 impacts on the construction sector.
Highlights
The implementation of social distancing policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has modified how our society works (e.g., [1,2,3])
Identify the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction sector among multiple stakeholders, namely companies, administration and design team, construction engineers and managers, workers, subcontractors and suppliers; (2) how the cause and effect of such impacts vary among the multiple stakeholders, and (3) identify whether there is an association between impacts due to COVID-19 and construction stakeholders
Are associated with the construction companies and developers/owner. These results contribute to achieve the objective 3 stated on this study, which is determining whether there is an association between impacts on construction projects due to COVID-19 and construction stakeholders
Summary
The implementation of social distancing policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has modified how our society works (e.g., [1,2,3]). Given the relevance that the construction sector has for the economic recovery of nations, it is of paramount importance to understand the impacts from COVID-19 on the construction industry [11,12]. Given this context, studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 and have focused on specific challenges for construction projects due to the pandemic. [7] studied the force majeure clause in public-private partnership projects during the COVID-19 pandemic; Ref. Ref. [7] studied the force majeure clause in public-private partnership projects during the COVID-19 pandemic; Ref. [13] discussed the need for suppliers to offer alternative sources of materials and equipment to minimize delays given the pandemic context; and [4] explored the spread of COVID-19 among construction workers using a simulation approach
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